Benefits of Landline to Mobile and CLI Masking

Telephony in business can be a complex affair. Whether you are a multi national business or a sole trader, your telephone system (mobile or landline) needs to be tailored to your requirements so that you can maximise on the business potential and so that your customers can have the best possible user experience when they contact you. To achieve this is no mean feat but fortunately there are many sophisticated new developments in the telecommunications industry that make this more achievable now than it ever was in the past.
One such development is the ability to create virtual landline numbers that divert straight to your mobile. This development has been a Godsend for many a sole trader or small business. Take this scenario:
Sean runs a small electrical business in Birmingham. He is often on the road and he has a small team of admin staff working for him and he also outsources to electrical contractors in different parts of the West Midlands. When Sean receives a call on his business landline from a potential customer the call diverts straight to his mobile so that he can answer the call. If Sean is on a job and he knows that he can’t answer the call he can arrange for it to divert back to the landline where hopefully somebody from his admin team will pick up. This way Sean doesn’t miss any important business calls.
Sean is also looking to grow his business but he can’t afford to set up different offices. Instead he arranges to have virtual local landline numbers set up that go through to his mobile. For example, one of his electrical contactors is based in Kidderminster so Sean arranges for a virtual local landline for Kidderminster to be set up. Through advertising that number in the local Kidderminster area Sean can take calls from customers local to that area on his mobile, and arrange for his Kidderminster-based electrical contractor to go and see them. By doing this, the customer feels that they are dealing with somebody local and Sean can increase his business footprint across the West Midlands without having to move or set up new offices. Sean can grow his business and create the perception of being a bigger business simply by obtaining virtual land line numbers.
One of the developments that allow this to take place is called CLI masking. CLI stands for Caller Line Identification and masking is a way of hiding your number or displaying a local number. For example, a business that is based just outside of London, let’s say Reading, might want to target an audience that is based in London. By masking their number with a London number, customers will think they are being contacted by a London-based company. This will potentially raise the profile of the company in the mind of the customer and present the company in a more prestigious light.
Similarly, as in the scenario outlined above, CLI masking can be used to show a local number to customers when in fact you are based elsewhere. It is well documented that customers are more likely to pick up the phone when they see that it’s a local number that is calling. In addition, customers also prefer to ring business landlines rather than mobiles because it creates the impression that the business is more stable and well established and that they are not dealing with a fly-by-night operation.
Here is a list of the features and benefits of landline to mobile and CLI masking:
1. Diverting landline calls to mobile means that you can pick up on all your important business calls and do not miss any revenue opportunities.
2. You can respond to the needs of your customers wherever you are or whatever you may be doing.
3. You can arrange for your current landline number to be diverted to your mobile.
4. The flexibility is there to divert the calls back to your colleagues when you are not in a position to answer.
5. You can organise virtual landlines to be diverted to your mobile based on different geographies that you want to target.
6. Customers like ringing landlines because it creates the impression that you are a more stable business and they also prefer to ring a local number
7. Customers are more likely to pick up a call when it is coming from a local number.
8. You can advertise your business in different areas without having to set up new offices
9. You can create the impression that you are a bigger company with a prestigious location.